Thank you. Finally a legitimate response about the content of the game. Ridley did drop that pass, but would Welker or Gronk on a quick hit over the middle, where the blitz came from, not have been a decent option there?

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Gronk was being kept in to block, as the TV guys pointed out, and Welker was being bracketed early after the snaps. Edelman was dinged. Branch had been tattooed and was working his way back into the lineup. Winslow was limited in his knowledge of the playbook. The RB was dropping passes and gaining 1 yard on his runs.

You ignore Brady putting up 30 points. You ignore what happened on the first downs in that drive:

Drop by Ridley
1 yard run for Ridley
3 yard run for Ridley, aided by a penalty
1 yard run by Ridley

What's funny is that we thought a first down should ice the game tonight with 4:00 left, and the Patriots got not one, not two, but three. The Pats got the ball to mid-field with two minutes left and made the Ravens burn two timeouts. Brady was pinpoint accurate throughout that series.

colts on the famous 4 and 2.

Threw a perfect pass to Faulk, who ran the pattern to a T. Problem was they got a bad spot and couldn't challenge, as BB had already used up his challenges. Designed play, perfectly executed. Blame the coaching.

Against the colts in 10 he couldn't engineer a drive to close it out, James sanders saved him with a pick though.

One regular season game in a handful of games in a season where the Pats went 14-2. I bet that in those other 14 games, there were no "close-out" drives, right?

Against the giants last year in both the regular season and the super bowl his drives sputtered giving the ball back to Eli with just enough time left.

You are incorrect on the first game. Brady threw the go-ahead TD and gave Eli the ball back. For the SB, you must have missed the game and all of the offseason talk detailing the dropped passes on those drives.

Against the colts in the 06 championship game he needed just one more first down and couldn't get it

Really? A 34-point output and game-icing ball into the hands of the bug-eyed Reche Caldwell isn't enough for you?

Against the ravens last year in the title game he could not ice it, instead he threw incomplete to Hernandez which gave flacco time for that final drive that ended with a missed kick.

Admittedly, it was not his game, as the Ravens D owned him all game. Not sure if I'd blame it on unclutchness so much as just being overmatched.

BOTTOM LINE is that with all of these games you are pointing to, one thing that is noticeably missing is a supporting crew, such as a RUNNING GAME. That is why some teams invest in top running backs and fullbacks, as they don't expect the quarterback to run out the clock by passing the football. That is illogical and doesn't work. It's not really the QBs job to run out the clock with an awkward, "safe-pass" philosophy that is designed to both keep the clock moving yet throw potential clock-killing and turnover-producing passes. By your own insinuation, you are claiming that it's Brady responsibility to single-handedly close out football games with a lead. The running game is "unclutch" if anything. It's always 2nd and 11 or 3rd and 8 in virtually of all these examples.

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Appreciate this post, my issue is one, you talk about me nit picking games. I picked playoff games, or games against great teams. That is how your measure a good quarterback.

The other thing, I think it says something that the answer is nothing more than an excuse that finds a way to fault every supporting offensive player except for Brady. Are you saying the only bad game he has ever played was last year's afc title game?

Appreciate this post, my issue is one, you talk about me nit picking games. I picked playoff games, or games against great teams. That is how your measure a good quarterback.

The other thing, I think it says something that the answer is nothing more than an excuse that finds a way to fault every supporting offensive player except for Brady. Are you saying the only bad game he has ever played was last year's afc title game?

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Montana played some pretty bad games as well...doesn't mean Joe sucked.

Brady is 35,every game is not going to be perfect and as a fan you look at many determining things as to judge what was at fault.

It simply was not Brady's fault tonight..there were no INTs nor was there any strip sacks or continuous overthrows that determined the final score.

Brady has had those 4 INT days where you could say he cost the team a win.....tonight wasn't one of them.

I think many of us were proud when Brady took off running in that one plah where he could find no one open downfield,many QBs would have either thrown it out of bounds,kneeled down at the LOS for a sack or threw a forced INT,Brady ran as far as he could for a nice gain.

Appreciate this post, my issue is one, you talk about me nit picking games. I picked playoff games, or games against great teams. That is how your measure a good quarterback.

The other thing, I think it says something that the answer is nothing more than an excuse that finds a way to fault every supporting offensive player except for Brady. Are you saying the only bad game he has ever played was last year's afc title game?

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Brady isn't perfect. But the team and fanbase, such as yourself, is extremely reliant on him in "clutch situations." Eli Manning got insane catches from Manningham and Tyree to win two SBs. Brady certainly hasn't gotten help when he's needed it most... you have to agree with that. It's not about one guy when things are going well or not so well. But particularly in those tight situations, do we ever see anyone else step up? Just for once can someone make a tough catch, or can a running back rip off a 7 yard run? A spectacular catch? An offensive line that doesn't always let up a sack in critical situations? Can the defense ever make a stop? Come up with a big sack on the last drive? Actually hold onto an interception?

I've never thought Brady was clutch or unclutch because I don't believe in "clutch"- I believe in small and large sample pools. I believe Brady is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, and I don't think he is better or worse in these situations. He is who he is. He has the same brain, body, and arm. The difference is that these situations, in football, call for other players other than a great passing quarterback to put games away. That's what pass rushers, running backs, offensive lines, are for, even more than the quarterback.

If Brady were the issue here, I'd be feeling pretty good about our chances.

Brady isn't perfect. But the team and fanbase, such as yourself, is extremely reliant on him in "clutch situations." Eli Manning got insane catches from Manningham and Tyree to win two SBs. Brady certainly hasn't gotten help when he's needed it most... you have to agree with that. It's not about one guy when things are going well or not so well. But particularly in those tight situations, do we ever see anyone else step up? Just for once can someone make a tough catch, or can a running back rip off a 7 yard run? A spectacular catch? An offensive line that doesn't always let up a sack in critical situations? Can the defense ever make a stop? Come up with a big sack on the last drive? Actually hold onto an interception?

I've never thought Brady was clutch or unclutch because I don't believe in "clutch"- I believe in small and large sample pools. I believe Brady is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, and I don't think he is better or worse in these situations. He is who he is. He has the same brain, body, and arm. The difference is that these situations, in football, call for other players other than a great passing quarterback to put games away. That's what pass rushers, running backs, offensive lines, are for, even more than the quarterback.

If Brady were the issue here, I'd be feeling pretty good about our chances.

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I agree,this team as a whole had lost its cluthness, it's not just brady, everyone is at fault.

I agree,this team as a whole had lost its cluthness, it's not just brady, everyone is at fault.

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Yeah, but it's true about most of the NFL now, as defenses are gassed in the 4th quarter. What happened tonight happens to every team all the time, especially on the road. We're used to the old Belichick teams that set records for holding fourth quarter leads, but that time has passed.

We are still missing a deep threat. Brandon Lloyd has been great but he has not taken the top of the defense off yet. We need a Torry Smith type that commands deep ball respect. It seems every play is like surgery.

By surgery I mean every pass has to be perfect and precise for it to work. There is no schoolyard sling it element to this offense. It is stressful to watch at times, as you know the level of execution needed to sustain drives is too much over the course of the game. We need a big play complement to Ridley and then we would be set.

We are still missing a deep threat. Brandon Lloyd has been great but he has not taken the top of the defense off yet. We need a Torry Smith type that commands deep ball respect. It seems every play is like surgery.

Jodee

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Aside from Randy Moss who caught everything thrown to him in 2007, Brady was never good with the long bomb and no one should expect that now.

Brady can toss a nice 25 yarder,but just how many 60 yard bombs do you see?....it's just not his game,that was Peyton Manning's way.

We struggle to beat close teams with great defenses on the road, and we struggle to hold leads.

Oh really, well so does every team in the NFL.

But in particular, let's stop saying that we aren't "clutch" and actually recognize the pattern and what makes us "unclutch." Why are we unable to sustain game-clinching drives when we have the ball late in games with a chance to put the game away? It isn't Brady, unless you can site a bunch of "unclutch" passes he's made, including off-target throws and interceptions. I certainly cannot think of any.

Is it the playcalling? Yes, but that's oversimplified. The coaches aren't idiots, they are just unable to execute because we don't have the talent. The talent where? In the running game.

It's not that complicated. Sorry that many can't accept that we don't have a magic bullet and can't win every game automatically with the right playcalling. You give and take with the salary cap. The Pats invest their money in their QB, pass blockers, and receiving targets, and not in star running backs or star run blockers. It works pretty darn well overall, but we're going to lose some games.

It seems tough to admit as I sit and watch game after game the last two years and blame the defense for our losses. Tom is the man and always will be, but there will come a time where he will not be the man he was. I think the time may have come. It seemed to be defense taking the blame as sub par qb after qb outplays our man, maybe its not the defense. This is not a decision made after one game but one made looking at the sum of its parts. The day has arrived, a little sooner then I had hoped, and that just totally bums me out.....